COUNTING ON VERMONT

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100 billion
Times per second that the new silicon germanium chips, made by Vermont's IBM plant, will be able to turn on and off. The plant, located in Essex Junction, Vt., will be the only factory in the world to produce the world's newest and fastest computer chip.

2 percent
Amount of teachers in Vermont schools who come from diverse ethnic backgrounds. In order to increase the amount of diversity among Vermont teachers, Vermont State Colleges is overseeing a program called "Coming Home," which offers tuition scholarships to ethnically diverse teacher education students. Currently, the program offers $21,000 to five Vermont students from money raised by foundations and the Legislature.

$400,000
Amount raised by Vermont firefighters to benefit families of firefighters hurt or killed in the events of Sept. 11, an amount that far surpassed their expected total of $100,000. In combination with the monetary donation, Vermont firefighters hosted two New York City firefighters in Burlington as part of a national program to show appreciation to the firefighters involved in the Sept. 11 efforts.

99
Age of Gertrude Robinson Mallary, a former Vermont state legislator and collector of Vermont books, at the time of her death on March 2. Mallary served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1953 and 1955 and a member of the Senate in 1957. She was a fan of books on Vermont history, politics and literature.

.26
Amount, in inches, of rainfall above normal precipitation that fell in Vermont during the month of February. This is the first month since August that the state has received more rain than the recorded average, which is a blessing for farmers who are worried about the current drought's effect on the land and the fact that Vermont has suffered its warmest winter in recorded history. Legislators met recently to discuss the impact of the drought, water conservation and possible help from federal resources.

23
Number of armories in Vermont that were closed after Sept. 11 due to safety concerns regarding the military facilities. Several state senators want to pass a law requiring state armories to re-open with the same level of public access to the state-owned buildings, which were previously used by youth groups conducting after school programs.

$10,000
Price per plate at last week's fundraising dinner and lecture for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, an event that raised a total of $6 million and attracted over 500 viewers. The featured speaker was Vermont Senator James Jeffords, the former 30-year Republican who switched parties to become an Independent, a decision that allowed for Democratic control of the U.S. Senate in 2001 and postponed President Bush's domestic agenda. The speech was Jefford's first appearance at a Democratic fundraiser.

Statistics courtesy of The Rutland Herald and The Burlington Free Press. Compiled by the Local News Editor.